CN111132879A

CN111132879A - ReWheel-method and device for energy recovery vehicle wheels

Info

Publication number: CN111132879A
Application number: CN201880061517.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 本杰明·夏皮罗
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-09-25
Filing date: 2018-09-25
Publication date: 2020-05-08
Anticipated expiration: 2038-09-25
Also published as: EP3687871A1; CN111132879B; CA3076617A1; JP2021524895A; JP7348662B2; US20190161062A1; WO2019060925A1; US10279785B1; EP3687871A4

Abstract

A method and apparatus for constructing a ReWheel, energy recovery, wheel is disclosed. During deceleration of the vehicle, kinetic energy of the vehicle is converted to potential energy via a regenerative braking assembly specifically configured and attached thereto. This energy is then reused for another acceleration of the vehicle, again converted into kinetic energy of the vehicle. The combination of the two components, the original wheel and the regenerative braking mechanism attached thereto, represents a new type of wheel, ReWheel. When the electric engine is operating in generator mode, the efficiency of the ReWheel device is much higher than other regenerative braking methods including those used in electric vehicles. ReWheel is also original in its utility since it can be applied to all automobiles regardless of their engine type (electric or internal combustion) and their engine power source.

Description

ReWheel-method and device for energy recovery vehicle wheels

Related patent application

The present application claims the priority date of us application 15/715,136 filed by the same inventor at 09/25 in 2017.

Technical Field

1. Field of the invention

The present invention aims to solve the following global problems:

protection of the climate of the earth by limiting the carbon dioxide pollution produced by cars and power plants;

energy savings and minimization of import requirements for additional energy in different countries;

making driving the car more affordable for the car owner.

More specifically, the present invention relates to various methods for conserving kinetic energy of a vehicle through regenerative braking and capturing and storing such energy within the system of the vehicle.

2. Background of the invention

The natural resources are precious and cannot be wasted.

The natural resources used to produce fuels for automotive internal combustion engines are at a premium. The generation of the electricity required to drive electric vehicles also in most cases still requires the combustion of the same fossil fuels, petroleum, gasoline and coal.

Gasoline consumption in the United states

"in 2014, the united states consumed about 1367.8 billion gallons¹(or 32.6 billion barrels) of gasoline²Average daily consumption of 3.7474 billion gallons (or 892 ten thousand barrels)³. This is about 4% lower than the highest historical record of about 1423.5 billion gallons (or 33.9 billion barrels) consumed in 2007. "

http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm？id＝23&t＝10

Price of gasoline

The "average price of gasoline in month 2 is $ 2.23 per gallon, which is the lowest average price in month 2 since 2009. The average price of 2 months in 2014 was $ 3.34 per gallon. "(average value of 5.57 dollars/2 $ 2.77 dollars/gallon in the final year)

newsroom.aaa.com/tag/gas-prices/

That is, the cost to the consumer to refuel the car every year is:

1367.8 billion gallons x $ 2.77 per gallon-3788.8 billion dollars

U.S. oil import expenses

"the United states imported about 9 million barrels per day (MMbbl/d) of crude oil from about 80 countries in 2014. "

http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm？id＝727&t＝6

31.5 gallons/barrel x 900 ten thousand barrels to 2.835 hundred million gallons/day

1035 billion of the 1367.8 billion gallons are imported annually.

Background

Review: regenerative braking

Regenerative braking is a method of storing kinetic energy within the vehicle system during braking.

Traditionally, and prior to recent attempts to provide regenerative braking, automotive energy consumption was extremely inefficient. When the kinetic energy of a moving vehicle is not stored in the vehicle system by converting it into other forms of energy when the brakes are applied, all of the energy generated (e.g., by the internal combustion engine) and used to impart a particular momentum to the vehicle is lost. The lost energy then destroys the object (brake) and generates heat in the process. The heat is released to the atmosphere and the damaged object (brake) eventually needs to be replaced.

Known methods of regenerative braking (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative brake) Or "kinetic energy recovery system" ("kinetic energy recovery system")https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic energy recovery system) The method comprises the following steps:

(a) flywheels-for some reason (too heavy to allow easy change of direction of the car-the horroscope effect-store its own momentum of movement, this stored energy being lost over time) prove impractical,

(b) an electric motor operating in generator mode, and

(c) the relatively new technology of storing the converted kinetic energy in a compressed gas tank requires a redesigned transmission system, hydraulic pump and multiple gas tanks.

Examples of the present invention

The "hybrid air drive train uses a hydraulic pump and piston to compress nitrogen in a storage tank called a high pressure accumulator.

The percussion accelerator releases pressurized gas which then reverses the flow of hydraulic fluid through the same pump. The pump acts as a motor to drive the wheels and the hydraulic fluid eventually enters the second reservoir.

Hybrid air vehicles use compressed nitrogen, which is held in a reservoir called a high pressure accumulator.

The hydraulic pump and piston compress the nitrogen in the accumulator.

When the nitrogen is released (by pressing the accelerator), the pump runs in reverse. It now acts as a motor, using the energy of the moving hydraulic fluid to transmit power to the wheels. The hydraulic fluid passes through the motor to a low pressure accumulator where it is stored for later use. "(see the picture-air drive car)

“http://www.popsci.com/article/cars/car-runs-air”

The above-described technique (c) of forcibly replacing the drive train is actually reconstructing the automobile. In contrast, the invention presented herein only requires supplementation of existing vehicle wheels.

Review: electric automobile

Although the battery life is continuously increased by the new invention, the disadvantages are as follows. Power still has to come from somewhere. Today, the most common way of generating electricity is still to burn fossil fuels, i.e. gasoline, coal and oil, which still pollute the atmosphere and thus violate the promise of green energy for electric vehicles.

Regenerative braking in electric vehicles

The battery charging procedure takes time. The efficiency of this procedure is low. A portion of the kinetic energy of the vehicle (stored by the electric motor operating in generator mode) is negligible because the amount of electricity generated in this mode is relatively low and the speed at which the battery can accumulate charge is relatively low. The relatively small motor/generators in an automobile cannot produce the same power as that obtained through the high voltage wires used to otherwise charge these batteries.

Disclosure of Invention

It is conventionally thought that the wheels are to be driven by some other device (e.g., an engine). The understanding that a wheel (modified wheel — ReWheel) may be its own engine is a new concept that can convert the energy of its own rotation into potential energy inside itself, then reuse this energy for its subsequent rotation, etc. Although some energy is always lost in these conversions and no means can achieve 100% efficiency, this concept is more advantageous than discharging the energy as heat into the atmosphere and damaging the brakes.

The kinetic energy of the car is entirely represented by the rotation of the wheels. Although wheels have traditionally been the subject of engines, such devices built on the wheels themselves actually allow the resulting wheels to be used as their own engines during such conversion processes with relatively high efficiency and relatively low energy consumption.

To better understand the reasons behind the invention, consider the following theoretical case:

whether (i1) is (theoretically) free of energy loss due to friction between the tire and the road, and

whether (i2) is (theoretically) free from energy loss due to air resistance of the running vehicle, and

(i3) whether the efficiency of this plant can (theoretically) be 100%.

Then, given the original momentum of motion of the vehicle, capturing all the kinetic energy during braking, and then reusing that same energy for acceleration, no additional power (electrical or combustion engine power) would be required.

Of course, it is not possible to have such ideal conditions (i1), (i2) and (i3), so external power would always be required to continuously replace these losses. Although there is still inevitably some energy loss in the conversion of kinetic energy from the vehicle to potential energy stored in the vehicle, the efficiency of energy conservation in the apparatus described herein is much higher than that provided by an electric motor operating in generator mode.

The invention presented herein differs from methods known in the art for conserving vehicle kinetic energy through regenerative braking. The device of the present invention is constructed on a conventional automotive wheel. Thus, the only component affected when implementing such energy conservation techniques on a vehicle that has been driven on a highway or a newly constructed vehicle is the wheel, and there is no need to reconfigure the entire drive train as in example (c) above.

By being constructed on the wheels, this technology can be applied to all automobiles regardless of the energy source used to power them. This technique is suitable for the construction of existing vehicles that travel on public roads as well as new vehicles.

The following is the effect of this technique:

saving global natural resources;

minimizing the air pollution that is now caused by the excessive use of internal combustion engines and the heavy use of power plants;

less vehicle driving costs for the vehicle user;

providing additional power to the vehicle on all wheels on which the device is mounted;

furthermore, two wheel drive vehicles are upgraded to four wheel drive vehicles with higher power on all wheels.

This upgrade can be done for all existing types of automobiles, including:

conventional internal combustion engine automobiles;

an electric vehicle;

hybrid vehicles;

automobiles powered by any alternative energy source.

The use of the ReWheel device requires the following three (3) simple steps to be performed on two (2) or all four (4) wheels of the car:

1. taking down the original wheel;

2. placing the ReWheel device in place of the original wheel and mounting its fixed portion to the automotive component described below;

3. the original wheel was attached to a rewwheel device.

Drawings

The invention set forth herein may be understood readily by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A: preferred embodiments of the ReWheel device.

FIG. 1B: examples of special block configurations.

FIG. 2: alternative embodiment 1 of the rewreen device.

FIG. 3: alternative embodiment 2 of the rewreen device.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1, a cylindrical-shaped reweel (energy recovery wheel) device is added to the wheel of a conventional automobile at a location between the conventional rim and the conventional hub.

The ReWheel device operates like a strong spring placed inside the wheels of a car, converting the kinetic energy of the running car into potential energy of compressed gas during braking, and then converting the potential energy of the compressed gas into the kinetic energy of the car again during acceleration.

The ReWheel device is connected to a raw hub 40 located on a raw wheel by a raw hub connector 41. The original hub connector 41 extends the original axle to the auxiliary hub connector 44 via the wheel extension shaft 24.

The original hub connector 41 occupies the position normally occupied by the original rim 42. A rudimentary rim 42 with a rudimentary tire 43 mounted thereon is connected to an auxiliary hub connector 44.

The body of the device, ReWheel body 100, is held stationary by a stationary connector 110. The fixed connector 110 is in turn connected to a part of the suspension system of the vehicle tyre, which part is always fixed to the wheel axle. For example, it may be connected to an upper ball joint or its equivalent.

Fig. 1 shows two energy stores 10 which project in the radial direction from the wheel extension shaft 24, their pressurized gas side facing the wheel axle. The rewreen plant may utilize a plurality of accumulators, each connected to the three-way valve 11, without changing the working principle of the plant.

There are many turbine assemblies in this implementation of ReWheel. One is a brake turbine 31 and the other is an accelerator gear 21. This implementation shows two accelerator gears 21 on opposite sides of a central gear 22, the central gear 22 being driven by the accelerator gears 21. The central gear 22 is hard-wired to and rotates on the wheel extension shaft 24.

The accumulator 10 is pre-filled with a pressurized gas 13, i.e. an inert gas, such as nitrogen. Initially, the other side of the accumulator is not filled. Then, during braking, the pressurized fluid 12 reaches the accumulator and further compresses the pressurized gas 13. Since the fluid used in this implementation is an oil that is almost incompressible when pressurized, and since it can change its shape and direction depending on the pipe through which it flows, it is a good force conductor.

The three-way valve 11, controlled by any mechanical or electronic device, in turn controls the braking and acceleration of the vehicle. They can be in any of the following 3 states: an intermediate state, i.e. when all the brake valves B and the accelerator valves a are closed; an acceleration state, i.e., when the brake valve B is closed and the accelerator valve a is open, produces a fluid flow 200 at the time of acceleration, which in turn causes the accelerator gear 21 to rotate faster, thereby rotating the center gear 22; and a braking state, i.e. when the accelerator valve a is closed and the brake valve B is open, a fluid flow 300 at braking is generated, which causes the pressurized gas 13 to further compress and further build up potential energy of the compressed gas 13 to the accumulator, which in turn brakes the vehicle, as each force has a reaction force.

A change of state of the device is effected as described below, causing braking of the vehicle and converting energy from kinetic energy into potential energy. In an intermediate state of the apparatus (no braking and no acceleration), the brake turbine 30, which is hard-connected and positioned on the wheel extension shaft 24, rotates together with the original tire 43. The fluid located between the braking turbine blades 31 is rotated without any pressure being applied thereto.

Most of the fluid within the ReWheel device is always located between the blades of the brake turbine 30 and is in a compressed state 12 within the accumulator 10.

Braking state

When the automobile needs to be braked, the following operations are carried out: opening port B of the three-way valve 11 (port a can only be closed at this time); and arranging the special block to move out and back in to prevent the fluid from rotating freely.

The movement of the mass is synchronized with the rotation of the blades so that the blades are not blocked but only the liquid between the blades.

The barrier liquid applies pressure to the brake turbine blades 31. Since the brake turbine 30 is placed on the same elongated shaft 24 as the original rim 42, the resistance to the liquid acts to oppose the rotation of the original tire 43. The inertia of the running vehicle generates a reaction force which in turn forces the braking fluid flow 300 in the accumulator 10 through the now open port B of the three-way valve.

Acceleration state

When it is desired to accelerate the vehicle, port a of the three-way valve 11 is opened (only port B can be closed at this time).

The pressurized gas 13 can then press against the pressurized liquid 12, creating a fluid stream 200 upon acceleration to impinge upon the blades of the accelerator gear 21. The accelerator gear 21 in turn rotates a central gear 22 connected thereto, which is located on the same extension shaft 24 connected to the rudimentary rim 42. The liquid used during acceleration then flows back to the brake turbine blades 31 via the fluid passage 230 back to the brake turbine. At this time, the brake turbine rotates without load (no pressure on its blades) because the special block is in the moved-in state and there is a space available for liquid between the blades.

Intermediate state

Both ports of the three-way valve 11 are closed. The special block is in the moved-in state.

The brake turbine and the accelerator gear (turbine) are free to rotate.

Description of alternative embodiments

Fig. 2 shows an alternative embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 shows an alternative embodiment 2.

Both figures show two volumes in the high pressure cylinder (accumulator). One side of each cylinder is filled with liquid and the other side is filled with gas.

In both figures, the accumulator is used in a structure complementary to the rim of the vehicle wheel and positioned on the extended wheel axle of the vehicle.

In both figures, the gas compressed during deceleration of the vehicle is used as a reservoir of energy.

In both figures, the liquid is a conductor of force between the pressure on the blades within the rotating turbine and the compressed gas. Sometimes the gas is referred to as "air", but the only important characteristics of these components are "liquid" and "gas". In this case, an inert gas, i.e., nitrogen, is more suitable.

The turbine, which is located on the same axis as the rim of the wheel, affects the rotation of the rim.

The following is a difference between the two alternative embodiments 1 and 2.

Alternative embodiment 1

In fig. 2 two volumes are depicted, an acceleration volume and a deceleration (braking) volume. In the present embodiment, there is a turbine which implements a turbine blade that can be reversed in angle. The angle of the blades varies depending on the mode of operation of the device, i.e. acceleration or deceleration (braking).

Acceleration and braking:

the angle of the vanes and the state of the volume input/output port control the state of the device, i.e. acceleration or deceleration (braking). The gears connecting the turbine wheel and the rim, which rotate on the same shaft but at different speeds, control the speed of braking and acceleration.

Alternative embodiment 2

In fig. 3 two turbines are depicted, a brake turbine on the left and an acceleration turbine on the right, with two accumulators located between them. The rim and the right accelerating turbine are both placed on the gear of the wheel extension shaft, i.e. always rotating at the same speed.

Accelerating:

the compressed gas, which is pressurized on the liquid in turn pressurized on the specific angle blades of the accelerating turbine, causes an acceleration. The liquid used for acceleration can then enter between the blades of the left brake turbine. At this time, the liquid between the brake turbine and its blades is free to rotate in the same direction as the acceleration turbine. This rotation is ensured by the liquid from the accelerating turbine and the angle of the braking turbine blades.

Braking:

the rotation direction reversing mechanism is used for connecting the freely rotating brake turbine with a disc on the wheel extension shaft. This causes the brake turbine to begin rotating in a direction opposite to the rotation of the wheels. The angle of the turbine blades is such that the liquid is pushed in the direction opposite to its origin, i.e. in the direction towards the accelerating turbine, which is located and locked on the wheel extension shaft. The liquid now presses on the rotation of the acceleration turbine and thus on the wheel, which in turn causes the vehicle to brake.

Claims

1. A system for implementing an energy recovery wheel of an energy storage device, comprising:

one or more brake turbines located on the same or different axle as the wheel axle;

one or more acceleration turbines on the same or different shaft as the wheel shaft, which can be replaced with specially configured gears;

one or more accumulators that compress gas and liquid are utilized.

2. A method of implementing a ReWheel system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more braking turbines, the one or more accelerating turbines and the accumulator are all provided within the same apparatus located on the axle or on an extension of the axle of the vehicle wheels.

3. A method of using energy recovery wheels, reweel, by upgrading a vehicle to supplement the vehicle with a reweel plant, the method comprising the steps of:

taking off the existing wheel;

replacing the original wheel with a ReWheel device;

the original wheels were added on top of the ReWheel device.